Down for one more run? FTL is adding 51 Steam achievements

A long list of challenges to work through

Try as you might, you can’t escape FTL: Faster Than Light – not for good. One decent run is all it takes to reel you in and remind you just how potent Subset Games’ ship-managing roguelike title can be.

In 2020, Subset is still breathing new life into its 2012 release. The studio is adding 51 Steam achievements to FTL to bring players back into the fray and push them out of their comfort zones.

• Just Getting Started – Get to sector 5.
• Battle Royale – While using the Mantis Cruiser, kill the last enemy with your last crew member on their ship.
• Phase Shift – With the Stealth Cruiser, avoid 9 points of damage during a single cloak.
• Tactical Approach – With the Stealth Cruiser, get to sector 8 without jumping to a beacon with an environmental danger.
• Robotic Warfare – With the Engi Cruiser, have 3 drones functioning at the same time.
• I hardly lifted a finger – With the Engi Cruiser, destroy an enemy ship using only drones (no weapons).
• The guns… They’ve stopped – Have 4 enemy systems or subsystems ioned at the same time while using the Engi Cruiser.
• Is it warm in here? – Have your crew kill a burning enemy on their ship while using the Rock Cruiser.
• Defense Drones Don’t Do D’anything! – While using the Rock Cruiser, destroy an enemy ship which has a defense drone deployed using only missiles.
• Ancestry – Find the secret sector with the Rock Cruiser.
• Take no prisoners! – Kill the crew of 20 ships by sector 6 in the Mantis Cruiser.
• Avast, ye scurvy dogs! – Kill 5 enemy crew in a fight without taking hull damage or losing a crew member while using the Mantis Cruiser.
• We’re in Position! – While using the Slug Cruiser, have vision of every room of the enemy ship without functioning sensors.
• Manpower – Get to sector 5 without upgrading your reactor in the Zoltan Cruiser.
• Home Sweet Home – Jump to 30 nebula locations before sector 8.
• Disintegration Ray – While using the Slug Cruiser, kill 3 enemy crew members with one shot from the Anti-Bio Beam.
• Master of Patience – Use only the Artillery Beam to destroy an enemy ship while taking no hull damage.
• Diplomatic Immunity – While using the Federation Cruiser, use your crew in 4 special blue event choices by sector 5.
• Artillery Mastery – Get to sector 5 in the Federation Cruiser without upgrading your weapon system.
• Sweet Revenge – Destroy an enemy ship with a shard from the Crystal Vengeance augment (unique to the Crystal Cruiser).
• No Escape – While using the Crystal Cruiser, trap 4 enemy crew in a single room using the Crystal Being power or a Lockdown Bomb.
• Clash of the Titans – Destroy 15 Rock Ships (pirates count) using the Crystal Cruiser.
• Advanced Mastery – Have Hacking, Mind Control and the Battery Active at once.
• Scrap Hoarder – Have at least 600 scrap in your ship storage
• Bird of Prey – Destroy a ship at full health during a single cloak in the Stealth Cruiser.
• Givin’ her all she’s got, Captain! – With the Zoltan Cruiser, have 29 power in systems at the same time.
• Federation Base in Range – Get to sector 8.
• Living off the Land – Get to sector 8 without buying at a store (Repairs are ok).
• Federation Victory (Easy) – Beat the boss on Easy.
• Federation Victory (Normal) – Beat the boss on Normal.
• Your Own Fleet – Unlock every playable ship.
• Rule Ten: Greed is Eternal – Collect 10,000 scrap across all games.
• Warlord – Defeat 1000 ships across all playthroughs.
• I don’t need no stinkin’ upgrades! – Get to sector 5 with no system/reactor upgrades.
• Coming in for my Pacifism run! – Get to sector 5 without firing a shot, using an offensive drone, or teleporting.
• On a Wing and a Prayer – Get to sector 5 without repairing at a store.
• Ballistophobia – Get to sector 8 without using missiles/bombs.
• Technophobia – Get to sector 8 without using drones.
• No Redshirts Here – Get to sector 8 without losing a crewmember.
• Shields Holding – Destroy a ship before it gets through the Zoltan Shield.
• Some people just like to watch ships burn – Have every square of an enemy ship on fire simultaneously.
• Astronomically Low Odds – Fail to evade 5 shots in a row with a fully powered and upgraded engine.
• They never saw it coming – Use the Weapon Pre-Igniter augmentation to destroy an enemy ship in one volley before the enemy can get a single shot off.
• BOARDING OBJECTIVE SUCCESSFUL – Have a single boarding drone kill 4 crewmembers on one ship.
• Trustworthy Auto-Pilot – Defeat an enemy ship with all of your crew aboard it.
• Slice and Dice – Hit every room of a ship with at least one beam in under 5 seconds.
• Victory through Asphyxiation – Empty the oxygen (Net level less than 5 percent) of a non-automated, hostile enemy ship.
• The United Federation – Have six unique aliens on the Kestrel Cruiser simultaneously.
• Full Arsenal – Have every system and subsystem installed on the Kestrel Cruiser at one time.
• Tough Little Ship – As the Kestrel Cruiser, repair back to full health when it only has 1 HP remaining.
• Loss of Cabin Pressure – Get to sector 8 without your ship’s net oxygen levels exceeding 20 percent (starts after the first jump).

These achievements should look familiar to longtime players.

The team’s latest game, Into the Breach, made wonderful use of meta challenges as a way to encourage players to try new tactics and master the mechanics from top to bottom. I gained an even greater appreciation for the cunning mech title, and I’m hoping FTL‘s Steam achievements have a similar effect.

More than anything, it’s just nice to hear Subset come up in the news again. They have a magic touch.

Subset Games [Twitter]